Aerospace & Defense

  • July 10, 2024

    Engineer Who Faced Export Charges Cops To Tax Counts

    A Chinese-born engineer has pled guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return related to allegations that he and his wife omitted gross income from their tax returns between 2015 and 2019, after Texas federal prosecutors initially charged the couple with export violations and fraud. 

  • July 10, 2024

    Key Menendez Witness Faces Scrutiny As Closings Drag On

    Closing arguments in U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's bribery trial are set to go into a fourth calendar day after jurors watched multiple sets of defense counsel Wednesday tear apart the testimony of a key cooperating witness.

  • July 10, 2024

    NY Judge Slams 'Whopping' Brief In Terror Suit As Dickensian

    A New York federal magistrate judge lectured attorneys in a lawsuit alleging a Pakistani bank funded terrorism, saying a recent joint status letter exceeded the limit by 70 pages and the parties are turning the case into a modern Jarndyce v. Jarndyce from the Charles Dickens classic "Bleak House."

  • July 10, 2024

    Prove Steel Is North American Or Pay Levy, White House Says

    Importers bringing steel and aluminum goods from Mexico must prove that the metals were forged in North America or face national security tariffs starting Wednesday, as part of the Biden administration's effort to counter Chinese goods rerouted through Mexico to avoid duties.

  • July 09, 2024

    4th Circ. Finds No Judicial Bias In DOD Contractor's Sentence

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a nine-year prison sentence for a North Carolina woman who fraudulently obtained military contracts valued at over $2.2 million, rejecting her argument that the district judge should've recused himself for bias and calling his admonishment during her sentencing "'ordinary,' albeit strongly worded."

  • July 09, 2024

    Chase Bank Reaches Deal In Data Security Patent Suit

    JPMorgan Chase Bank NA indicated Tuesday that it has settled a lawsuit in Texas federal court over data security patents developed by a former Israeli air defense officer who worked on technological solutions for "survivability capabilities against systemic failures."

  • July 09, 2024

    IT Firm Accuses Feds Of Unjustifiably Canceling Deal

    A Virginia information technology firm sued the federal government over a corrective action that saw the U.S. General Services Administration revoking a "game-changing" $22.6 million order, saying the agency offered no explanation for the cancellation.

  • July 09, 2024

    Terrorism Victims Push To Keep Pharma Suit In DC Circ.

    Terrorism victims warned the D.C. Circuit against sending to a lower court a lawsuit seeking to link pharmaceutical companies to the attacks that injured them, saying a remand could delay the case and frustrate their efforts to collect evidence.

  • July 09, 2024

    Boeing, DOJ Say 737 Max Families Can't Rush Monitor Pick

    Boeing has told a Texas federal judge that 737 Max crash victims' families cannot rush the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the company's safety and compliance efforts, saying its new tentative plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice adequately addresses the monitorship issue.

  • July 09, 2024

    Menendez Atty Accuses Feds Of 'Trickery' As Trial Nears End

    The bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez is being "fudged" to compensate for pervasive gaps in evidence, his counsel told a federal jury in Manhattan at the start of defense closing arguments Tuesday.

  • July 09, 2024

    CNA Seeks Toss Of Lockheed's Contamination Coverage Suit

    A CNA Financial unit urged a Maryland federal court to toss Lockheed Martin's suit accusing the insurer of wrongfully refusing coverage for underlying contamination suits, saying the very same issues are already pending before a New York federal court.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ex-DOJ Atty Tells Guo Jury Of Illicit Extradition Campaign

    Prominent Chinese Communist Party critic Miles Guo capped off his defense to $1 billion fraud charges Tuesday with testimony from a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney, who admitted to participating in a plot to lobby the U.S. government for Guo's extradition to China.

  • July 09, 2024

    DOD Likely To Need More Time To Nix PFAS Firefighting Foam

    The Department of Defense will likely need a two-year extension on its deadline to fully stop using firefighting foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," according to a Government Accountability Office report detailing steps the DOD has taken to transition away from the material. 

  • July 09, 2024

    Newman Loses Suit Against Fed. Circ. Over Suspension

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman filed against her colleagues over her suspension for refusing to undergo medical tests, saying she failed to prove the judicial conduct law at issue is unconstitutional.

  • July 09, 2024

    Defense Dept. Sticks With Sentinel, Despite Program's Costs

    The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing ahead with its new intercontinental ballistic missile project, with its contracting chief saying the program's importance to national security outweighs its ballooning costs.

  • July 08, 2024

    What's In Boeing's Tentative 737 Max Plea Deal With DOJ

    Boeing's willingness to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud U.S. regulators over the 737 Max 8's development is a rare mea culpa from an embattled American aerospace titan eager to rebuild public trust after six years of overlapping government investigations, production pauses and mounting litigation.

  • July 08, 2024

    Boeing's Federal Contracts At Risk After Guilty Plea

    Boeing's guilty plea for fraud related to the safety of its 737 Max 8 commercial aircraft will trigger additional scrutiny for a possible suspension or debarment from federal contracting, potentially putting lucrative future contracts at risk for the company.

  • July 08, 2024

    Chinese Student Pleads Guilty To Espionage Drone Pics

    A Chinese national previously enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Minnesota pleaded guilty Monday in Virginia federal court to two misdemeanors under the Espionage Act for taking unauthorized photos with a drone of shipbuilding yards that contained classified U.S. military vessels.

  • July 08, 2024

    Menendez 'Put Power Up For Sale,' Feds Say In Closing

    Sen. Robert Menendez "put his power up for sale" in a slew of bribes often brokered by his wife but for which the New Jersey lawmaker was always "calling the shots," a Manhattan federal prosecutor said during closing arguments in the high-profile trial Monday.

  • July 08, 2024

    Feds Aim To Expand Military Site List For Land Deal Reviews

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Monday proposed putting 59 more military sites on its radar when it reviews real estate deals for national security issues, a move that comes on the heels of the White House's crackdown on a Chinese-owned cryptocurrency mine near a Wyoming air base.

  • July 08, 2024

    Trump's Mar-a-Lago Case Slowed After Immunity Ruling

    The Florida federal judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal case over retaining classified national security documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House temporarily halted some proceedings following the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling, and also denied a motion to dismiss the superseding indictment against Trump's personal aide.

  • July 08, 2024

    Feds Seize $63M LA Estate Tied To Armenian Bribe Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that it will seize a $63 million Los Angeles estate that it claims was bought with bribe payments for the family of a former Armenian government official.

  • July 08, 2024

    Boeing To Plead Guilty, Pay $243M Fine In DOJ 737 Max Deal

    Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud safety regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, avoiding a criminal trial over a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, according to a U.S. Department of Justice court filing late Sunday.

  • July 05, 2024

    GAO Approves Of Rival Co.'s Use Of Same Subcontractor

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest over a Defense Health Agency healthcare delivery modernization task order, saying Peraton Inc. was allowed to use the same subcontractor as rival ViiMed after the DHA ended ViiMed's similar deal.

  • July 05, 2024

    How Reshaped Circuit Courts Are Faring At The High Court

    Seminal rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court's latest term will reshape many facets of American society in the coming years. Already, however, the rulings offer glimpses of how the justices view specific circuit courts, which have themselves been reshaped by an abundance of new judges.

Expert Analysis

  • How Harsher Penalties For AI Crimes May Work In Practice

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    With recent pronouncements from the U.S. Department of Justice that prosecutors may seek sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using artificial intelligence, defense counsel should understand how the sentencing guidelines and statutory factors will come into play, says Jennie VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.

  • Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks

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    As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference

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    Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Risks Of Nonmutual Offensive Collateral Estoppel In MDLs

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    After the Supreme Court declined to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in the E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. personal injury litigation, nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel could show up in more MDLs, and transform the loss of a single MDL bellwether trial into a de facto classwide decision that binds thousands of other MDL cases, say Chantale Fiebig and Luke Sullivan at Weil Gotshal.

  • Wesco Ch. 11 Ruling Marks Shift In Uptier Claim Treatment

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    A Texas bankruptcy court’s recent decision in In re: Wesco Aircraft Holdings leaves nonparticipating creditors with a road map to litigate to judgment non-pro rata liability management transactions, and foreshadows that bankruptcy courts may no longer be a friendly forum for these types of claims, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Takeaways From Groundbreaking Data Transfer Order

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    A recent first-of-its-kind executive order and related proposed rulemaking lay the groundwork for important outbound U.S. data protections, but they may have unintended consequences related to the types of data and the subjects within their scope, say attorneys at Kirkland.

  • FARA Enforcement May Soon Be In The Halls Of Higher Ed

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    Given Congress’ increased attention to rising foreign influence on U.S. college campuses, the U.S. Department of Justice may soon turn the Foreign Agents Registration Act spotlight on educational institutions and groups, which will need to review their possible obligations under the statute, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • How The FAA Is Embracing Simplified Flight Controls

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    The Federal Aviation Administration's openness to approving simplified flight controls as part of its forthcoming refresh of regulations governing light-sport aircraft and sport pilot certificates is valuable and welcome — and the same approach can be brought to general aviation aircraft, says Paul Alp at Adams and Reese.

  • Making The Pitch For A Civil Resolution In A Criminal Case

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    Even without the depth of visibility into prosecutorial decision making offered by special counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report, defense counsel may be able to make the case for civil resolutions of criminal investigations while minimizing a potential negative response from prosecutors to such an argument, says Bill Athanas at Bradley Arant.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

  • Series

    Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.

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